Collapsible clothes hanger



July 12, 1949. c. FOWLER COLLAPSIBLE CLOTHES HANGER Filed Oct. 21, 19462 Sheets-Sheet l L R Y 0M 5 M N R W m Wm w July 12, 1949. L. c. FOWLERCOLLAPSIBLE CLOTHES HANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 21, 1946 VE/VTOR160 c. .FOWLER AZ TORNEY Patented July 12, 1949 UNITED STAiES 3 Claims.

This invention relates to clothes hangers and. more particularly to aclothes hanger of the foldable type.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a clothes hangerwhich may be folded into a compact package for transportv in thesuitcase of the traveler and which can with little effort be unfolded toform a hanger ready for use.

It is another object of the invention to provide a foldable clotheshanger which when folded will be retained in its folded shape by thehook portion which is folded into the package and which frictionallyengages with the folded parts to hold them against separation until thehook is drawn out of the package.

According to the invention, the arm portions of the hanger arehingggltogether at the top so as to be folded downwardly and broughttogFther. When in their up position and extended to support a garmentthey are held by trouser bar portions which are separable from oneanother when folding the hanger and adapted to be pivoted into and underthe respective arm portions to hold them in their folded positions. Aclip joins the inner ends of the trouser bar portions when the hangerhas been opened for use. In one form a hook which is connected to thehinge pin joining the two arm portions may be slid into slots int-o oneof the arm portions which are slightly offset to the vertical plane inwhich the hook is swung so that the side of the hook will engage withfrictional contact with the side of the slot thereby retaining the hookuntil such time as force is applied to break the frictional engagementof the hook with the side of the slot. In another form of the invention,the hook extends through slots in both arm portions whereby to hold thearm portions by friction against separation as well .as to maintain thehook in place.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, .and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawing forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the hanger with the arm portionsextended and the hook in its upright position.

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the hanger shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the hanger shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view taken along the line tl-t ofFig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows thereof.

Fig. 5 is a transverse cross sectional view of the hanger taken alongthe line 55 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows thereof.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational View of the hanger after the trouser barportions have been folded in and the arm portions folded together.

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional View of the folded hanger showing the hookengaging with the slots of one arm portion and the trouser bar thereof.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a clothes hanger of amodified form having a hook of different shape, adapted to extendthrough slots in both arm portions.

Fig. 9 is. a fragmentary cross sectional view taken in the region of thecatch for retaining the trouser bar portions in their extendedpositions.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken through the foldedhanger showin the hook engaging with slots in both arm portions.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view looking in plan upon the slidecatch of one of the trouser bar portions having a slot for receiving ahook.

Referring now to the figures, l5 represents a clothes hanger comprisingside arm portions l6 and I! connected together by hinge elements It anda pin l9 extending through the elements. Upon this same pin 19 there isconnected a hook 2! for pivotal movement. On the lower ends of armportions l6 and I1 and internally thereof, there is pivoted respectivelytrouser bar portions 22 and 23 as by pivot pins 24. These bar portions22 and 23 are of channel shape and can fold into the arm portions I6 andI! which are also of channel shape.

When the bar portions are down their rounded rear ends 25 will engagethe rounded inner faces of the arm portions and be retained againstdownward movement beyond their horizontal positions. One of the barportions has a slide 27 with a handle 28 whereby upon moving the slidethrough a strap 29 on the trouser bar portion 22 the parts will bepositively held in horizontal alignment.

To collapse or fold the hanger for transport the latch 21 is withdrawnfrom under the strap 29 and the trouser parts are folded into the armportions. This will permit the arm portions to be folded together aboutthe hinge pin Ill. The hook 2! is then pivoted into a top end slot 3| Ofthe arm portion I 6 and into a slot 32 of the arm portion It and slot 33of the trouser bar portion 22. Both of these slots 32 and 33 are offsetfrom the center of the hanger or the plane in which the hook 21 ispivoted so that the hook must be slightly forced to the side in order toenter the slots whereby to place the hook in frictional engagementtherewith so that it will be retained against easy removal from theslots. By having the hook so located when the hanger is folded it can beeasily removed from the suitcase without hooking upon articles which maybe contained in the suitcase.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 8, 9, and 11, it will be noted thatthere is provided a hook 35 having nearly a complete circular formation36 thereon. In addition to slots being provided in the arm and barportions 16 and 22 there are provided similar slots 3'1 and 38 in thearm and bar portions 17 and 23. A slide 39 for retaining the trouserbars together also has a slot 41 for receiving the circular portion 36of the hook and like the slots 32, 33, 31 and 38 is also offset from thecenter of the hanger and the vertical plane in which the hook ispivoted. Thus the hook will have frictional engagement with the parts atboth sides of the hanger whereby it will not only hold the hanger inplace but will also provide to some degree a locking means for retainingthe parts in their folded position so that they will not rattle orseparate from one another.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims. 4

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A collapsible clothes hanger comprising two arm portions hingedtogether at their top ends and having opposed free ends, said armportions being laterally foldable toward one another to collapse saidhanger, a trouser bar portion pivotally connected to each of said freeends for movement into and out of said arm portions, a hook pivoted onsaid hinge connection of said arm portions and adapted to be pivotedinto a vertical plane, each of said arm portions and their respectivetrouser bar portions having a slot formed therein, said slots of eacharm portion and its associated bar portion being aligned when eachassociated bar portion is pivoted into its respective arm portion, allof said slots being aligned when said arm portions are folded toward oneanother whereby said hook may be pivoted and received therein.

2. A collapsible clothes hanger as defined in claim 1, said slots beingoifset to cause said hook to exert lateral latching pressure on saidarms and their associated trouser bar portions.

3. A collapsible clothes hanger as defined in claim 1, and catch meansfor securing said trouser bar portions together in their extendedpositions, said catch means comprising a slide adapted to be moved intoengagement from one of said trouser bar portions with the other trouserbar portion, said slide having a slot formed therein which is alignedwith the slot formed in its associated trouser bar portion when itsassociated trouser bar portion is folded into its respective arm.

LEO C. FOWLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

